Battle of the Oder-Neisse
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the Oder–Neisse is the German name for the initial (operational) phase of one of the last two strategic offensives conducted by the Red Army
in the Campaign in Central Europe (1 January – 9 May) during World War II. Its initial breakthrough
phase was fought over four days, from 16 April until 19 April 1945, within the larger context of the Battle of Berlin
. The Soviet military planners divide the frontal and pincer phases of the operation, named Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation into:
The battle included heavy fighting by the three Fronts of the Marshals of Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky's
2nd Belorussian Front, Georgy Zhukov's
1st Belorussian Front and Ivan Konev's
1st Ukrainian Front, that assaulted the defending Wehrmacht Army Group Vistula
commanded by Colonel-General (Generaloberst) Gotthard Heinrici
and Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner'
Army Group Centre
.
(part of Army Group Vistula) , in what became known as the Battle of the Seelow Heights
. 1st Ukrainian Front encountered much lighter resistance crossing the Neisse to penetrate defensive lines of Army Group Centre.
In the early hours on 16 April 1945, the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation began with a massive bombardment by thousands of artillery pieces
and Katyusha rockets in a barrage which was sustained for as long as two hours on some sectors of the front. Shortly afterwards and well before dawn, the 1st Belorussian Front attacked across the Oder, and the 1st Ukrainian Front attacked across the Neisse
. The 1st Belorussian Front was strengthened because it had the more difficult assignment and was facing the majority of the German forces in prepared defences.
Zhukov was forced to report that the Seelow Heights offensive was not going as planned. Stalin, to spur Zhukov, told him that he would give Konev permission to wheel his tank armies towards Berlin from the south. On the second day, the 1st Belorussian Front staff were reduced to combing the rear areas for any troops which could be thrown into the battle. The Red Army tactic of using dense concentration of firepower was providing the usual results. By nightfall of 17 April, the German front before Zhukov remained unbroken, but only just.
On 18 April, both Soviet Fronts made steady progress, but Red Army losses were substantial. By nightfall, the 1st Belorussian Front had reached the third and final German final line of defence.
On the fourth day of the battle, 19 April, the 1st Belorussian Front broke through the final line of the Seelow Heights with nothing except severely depleted withdrawing German formations between its troops and Berlin. The remnants of General Theodor Busse
's 9th Army, which had been holding the heights, and the remaining northern flank of the 4th Panzer Army, were in danger of being enveloped by elements of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
While the 1st Belorussian Front encircled Berlin, the 1st Ukrainian Front started the battle for the city itself
. Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front started his offensive to the north of Berlin. On the 20 April, between Stettin and Schwedt
, Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front attacked the northern flank of Army Group Vistula, held by the III Panzer Army
. By the 22 April, the 2nd Belorussian Front had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Oder over 15 km deep, and was heavily engaged with the III Panzer Army
(under the command of General Ferdinand Schörner
) was not providing as much opposition as that faced by Zhukov's troops. 4th Panzer Army on the north flank of his formation was falling back under the weight of the 1st Ukrainian Front Attack. Two Panzer divisions on the southern flank were retained in reserve for possible need in the centre of the Army Group front, and were not available for use to shore up the 4th Panzer Army. This was the turning point in the battle, because by nightfall the positions of both the Army Group Vistula and southern sectors of Army Group Centre were becoming untenable. Unless they fell back in line with the 4th Panzer Army, they faced envelopment. In effect, Konev's successful attacks on Schörner's poor defences to the south of the Seelow Heights positions were unhinging Heinrici's defence.
On 18 April, the 1st Ukrainian Front, having captured the city of Forst, was preparing to break out into the relatively flat terrain.
Elements of the 3rd Guards, 3rd
and 4th Guards Tank Armies
, which were the Front's Cavalry Mechanized Group
, having exploited the breach in the 4th Panzer Army sector of the front, and turned north between Seyda and Jüterbog
towards a meeting with the 1st Belorussian Front west of Berlin.
" when the 58th Guards Division of the 5th Guards Army, part of 1st Ukrainian Front, made contact with the US 69th Infantry Division of the First Army
near Torgau
, Germany on the Elbe
River., reaching the Mulde
by the 8 May.
area. They were now free to move west towards the British 21st Army Group
, and north towards the Baltic ports of Stralsund
and Rostock
.
around the Seelow and to the south around Frost had ceased to exist. These breakthroughs allowed the two Red Army Fronts to envelop large parts of the German 9th and 4th Panzer Armies in a large pocket 37 km east of Frankfurt that attempted to follow the Oder-Spree Canal to Berlin. Attempts by the 9th Army to break out to the west would result in the Battle of Halbe
.
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in the Campaign in Central Europe (1 January – 9 May) during World War II. Its initial breakthrough
Breakthrough (military)
A breakthrough occurs when an offensive force has broken the enemy defensive line, and is rapidly exploiting the gap.Usually, large force is employed on a relatively small portion of the front to achieve this...
phase was fought over four days, from 16 April until 19 April 1945, within the larger context of the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
. The Soviet military planners divide the frontal and pincer phases of the operation, named Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation into:
- Settin-Rostock Offensive Operation (16 April 1945 – 8 May 1945) by the 2nd Belorussian Front2nd Belorussian FrontThe 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
- Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation (16 April 1945 – 2 May 1945) by the 1st Belorussian Front1st Belorussian FrontThe 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
- Cottbus-Potsdam Offensive Operation (16 April 1945 – 2 May 1945) by the northern flank and Cavalry Mechanized GroupCavalry Mechanized GroupA cavalry-mechanized group was a type of military formation used in the Red Army during World War II against Germany and Japan.- Organization :...
of the 1st Ukrainian Front1st Ukrainian FrontThe 1st Ukrainian Front was a front—a force the size of a Western Army group—of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War.-Wartime:... - Spremberg-Torgau Offensive Operation (16 April 1945 – 5 May 1945) by the southern flank of the 1st Ukrainian Front1st Ukrainian FrontThe 1st Ukrainian Front was a front—a force the size of a Western Army group—of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War.-Wartime:...
The battle included heavy fighting by the three Fronts of the Marshals of Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky's
Konstantin Rokossovsky
Konstantin Rokossovskiy was a Polish-origin Soviet career officer who was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, as well as Marshal of Poland and Polish Defence Minister, who was famously known for his service in the Eastern Front, where he received high esteem for his outstanding military skill...
2nd Belorussian Front, Georgy Zhukov's
Georgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
1st Belorussian Front and Ivan Konev's
Ivan Konev
Ivan Stepanovich Konev , was a Soviet military commander, who led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II, retook much of Eastern Europe from occupation by the Axis Powers, and helped in the capture of Germany's capital, Berlin....
1st Ukrainian Front, that assaulted the defending Wehrmacht Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
commanded by Colonel-General (Generaloberst) Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Heinrici was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Heinrici's was born in Gumbinnen , East Prussia, on Christmas Day, 1886, to Paul Heinrici, a local Lutheran minister of the Prussian Church, and his wife Gisela, née von Rauchhaupt, who was of recent Jewish descent...
and Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner'
Ferdinand Schörner
Ferdinand Schörner was a General and later Field Marshal in the German Army during World War II.-Early life:Schörner was born in Munich, Bavaria...
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
.
Combat operations
Most of the fighting took place during 1st Belorussian Front's assault on the Seelow Heights, that were defended by the German 9th ArmyGerman Ninth Army
The 9th Army was a World War II field army.The 9th Army was activated on May 15, 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command.-1940:The 9th Army first saw service along the Siegfried Line when it was involved in the invasion of France...
(part of Army Group Vistula) , in what became known as the Battle of the Seelow Heights
Battle of the Seelow Heights
The Battle of the Seelow Heights , was a part of the Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation ; one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of World War II. It was fought over three days, from 16–19 April 1945...
. 1st Ukrainian Front encountered much lighter resistance crossing the Neisse to penetrate defensive lines of Army Group Centre.
In the early hours on 16 April 1945, the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation began with a massive bombardment by thousands of artillery pieces
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and Katyusha rockets in a barrage which was sustained for as long as two hours on some sectors of the front. Shortly afterwards and well before dawn, the 1st Belorussian Front attacked across the Oder, and the 1st Ukrainian Front attacked across the Neisse
Lusatian Neisse
The Lusatian Neisse is a long river in Central Europe. The river has its source in the Jizera Mountains near Nová Ves nad Nisou, Czech Republic, reaching the tripoint with Poland and Germany at Zittau after , and later forms the Polish-German border on a length of...
. The 1st Belorussian Front was strengthened because it had the more difficult assignment and was facing the majority of the German forces in prepared defences.
Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation
The initial attack by the 1st Belorussian Front was a disaster; Heinrici anticipated the move and withdrew his defenders from the first line of trenches just before the Red Army artillery obliterated them. The light from 143 searchlights, which were intended to blind the defenders, was diffused by the early morning mist and made useful silhouettes of the attacking Red Army formations. The swampy ground proved to be a great hindrance and under a German counter-barrage, Red Army casualties were very heavy. Frustrated by the slow advance, or on the direct orders of Stavka, Zhukov threw in his reserves, which in his plan were to have been held back to exploit the expected breakthrough. By early evening, an advance of almost six kilometres had been achieved in some areas, but the German lines remained relatively intact.Zhukov was forced to report that the Seelow Heights offensive was not going as planned. Stalin, to spur Zhukov, told him that he would give Konev permission to wheel his tank armies towards Berlin from the south. On the second day, the 1st Belorussian Front staff were reduced to combing the rear areas for any troops which could be thrown into the battle. The Red Army tactic of using dense concentration of firepower was providing the usual results. By nightfall of 17 April, the German front before Zhukov remained unbroken, but only just.
On 18 April, both Soviet Fronts made steady progress, but Red Army losses were substantial. By nightfall, the 1st Belorussian Front had reached the third and final German final line of defence.
On the fourth day of the battle, 19 April, the 1st Belorussian Front broke through the final line of the Seelow Heights with nothing except severely depleted withdrawing German formations between its troops and Berlin. The remnants of General Theodor Busse
Theodor Busse
Ernst Hermann August Theodor Busse was a German officer during World War I and World War II.- Career :...
's 9th Army, which had been holding the heights, and the remaining northern flank of the 4th Panzer Army, were in danger of being enveloped by elements of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
While the 1st Belorussian Front encircled Berlin, the 1st Ukrainian Front started the battle for the city itself
Battle in Berlin
The Battle in Berlin was an end phase of the Battle of Berlin. While the Battle of Berlin encompassed the attack by three Soviet Army Groups to capture not only Berlin but the territory of Germany east of the River Elbe still under German control, the Battle in Berlin details the fighting, and...
. Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front started his offensive to the north of Berlin. On the 20 April, between Stettin and Schwedt
Schwedt
Schwedt is a city in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the largest city of the district Uckermark near the Oder river on the border with Poland.-Overview:...
, Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front attacked the northern flank of Army Group Vistula, held by the III Panzer Army
German Third Panzer Army
The 3rd Panzer Army was a German army that saw action during World War II. It was formed from Panzergruppe 3, which had been formed on November 16, 1940....
. By the 22 April, the 2nd Belorussian Front had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Oder over 15 km deep, and was heavily engaged with the III Panzer Army
Cottbus-Potsdam Offensive Operation
In the south, the attack by the 1st Ukrainian Front was keeping to plan because Army Group CentreArmy Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
(under the command of General Ferdinand Schörner
Ferdinand Schörner
Ferdinand Schörner was a General and later Field Marshal in the German Army during World War II.-Early life:Schörner was born in Munich, Bavaria...
) was not providing as much opposition as that faced by Zhukov's troops. 4th Panzer Army on the north flank of his formation was falling back under the weight of the 1st Ukrainian Front Attack. Two Panzer divisions on the southern flank were retained in reserve for possible need in the centre of the Army Group front, and were not available for use to shore up the 4th Panzer Army. This was the turning point in the battle, because by nightfall the positions of both the Army Group Vistula and southern sectors of Army Group Centre were becoming untenable. Unless they fell back in line with the 4th Panzer Army, they faced envelopment. In effect, Konev's successful attacks on Schörner's poor defences to the south of the Seelow Heights positions were unhinging Heinrici's defence.
On 18 April, the 1st Ukrainian Front, having captured the city of Forst, was preparing to break out into the relatively flat terrain.
Elements of the 3rd Guards, 3rd
3rd Guards Tank Army (Soviet Union)
The 3rd Guards Tank Army was a tank army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. The 3rd Tank Army was created in 1942 and fought in the southern areas of the Soviet Union, Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia until the defeat of Germany in 1945...
and 4th Guards Tank Armies
4th Tank Army (Soviet Union)
The 20th Guards Army, , is a field army, since 1991, part of the Russian Ground Forces.-1st Formation :It was first formed within the Stalingrad Front from July 1942 and...
, which were the Front's Cavalry Mechanized Group
Cavalry Mechanized Group
A cavalry-mechanized group was a type of military formation used in the Red Army during World War II against Germany and Japan.- Organization :...
, having exploited the breach in the 4th Panzer Army sector of the front, and turned north between Seyda and Jüterbog
Jüterbog
Jüterbog is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, located in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is located on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin.-History:...
towards a meeting with the 1st Belorussian Front west of Berlin.
Spremberg-Torgau Offensive
Other Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front's southern flank attacked west linking up with the Americans. That would be remembered later as the "meeting at TorgauTorgau
Torgau is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen.Outside Germany, the town is most well known as the place where during the Second World War, United States Army forces coming from the west met with forces of the Soviet Union...
" when the 58th Guards Division of the 5th Guards Army, part of 1st Ukrainian Front, made contact with the US 69th Infantry Division of the First Army
U.S. First Army
The First United States Army is a field army of the United States Army. It now serves a mobilization, readiness and training command.- Establishment and World War I :...
near Torgau
Torgau
Torgau is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen.Outside Germany, the town is most well known as the place where during the Second World War, United States Army forces coming from the west met with forces of the Soviet Union...
, Germany on the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
River., reaching the Mulde
Mulde
The Mulde is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and 124 km in length.The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde and the Freiberger Mulde , both rising from the Ore Mountains...
by the 8 May.
Stettin-Rostock Offensive Operation
On 25 April the 2nd Belorussian Front broke through 3rd Panzer Army's line around the bridgehead south of Stettin and crossed the Randow swamp on the GramzowGramzow
Gramzow is a municipality in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, Germany....
area. They were now free to move west towards the British 21st Army Group
British 21st Army Group
The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation consisting primarily of British and Canadian forces. The Army Group was an important Allied force in the European Theatre of World War II. It was established in London during July 1943 under the command of Supreme Headquarters Allied...
, and north towards the Baltic ports of Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
.
Results
By the end of 19 April, the German eastern front line north of FrankfurtFrankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
around the Seelow and to the south around Frost had ceased to exist. These breakthroughs allowed the two Red Army Fronts to envelop large parts of the German 9th and 4th Panzer Armies in a large pocket 37 km east of Frankfurt that attempted to follow the Oder-Spree Canal to Berlin. Attempts by the 9th Army to break out to the west would result in the Battle of Halbe
Battle of Halbe
The Battle of Halbe lasted from April 24 - May 1, 1945 was a battle in which the German Ninth Army, under the command of Colonel General Theodor Busse was destroyed as a fighting force by the Red Army during the Battle for Berlin....
.